Hall, A Tribute and Some Links

After a couple of difficult days at work Thursday and Friday, I needed a couple days to get my brain back to a semi-gelatinous form.  Thank God for Mondays....aack!  Nevertheless I am back at the keyboard to rant at BTW.

Hall:

To me there are certain criteria that make a Hall Of Famer.  Statistics do not always tell the tale.  There are those players that irregardless of their stats, you know they are destined to be inducted.

They are the players that simply stand out in a crowd.  They throw no hitters like no one else.  They are Nolan Ryan.

They are the player you don't want to face with runners on base.  They are Dave Winfield and Jim Rice, congratulations.

They are players you love to hate and would walk with the bases loaded in a 2 run game because you don't want them to beat you.  They are Barry Bonds and Alex Rodriguez.

They are guys with nicknames that symbolize their prominence.  They are Mr. October Reggie Jackson and Big Unit Randy Johnson.

They are players you never want on base.  They are Ricky Henderson, congratulations.

They are players who symbolize the city they represent.  They are Maz, Pops, Cal Ripken Jr. and Tony Gwynn.

They are players who can carry a team with one arm.  They are Albert Pujols.

They are players you want on your team, but hate when they play for anyone else.  They are Pete Rose and Dave Parker.

They are players who throw complete games when your team needs it the most.  They are Bert Blyleven.

They are players who have the stats and a surgery named after them.  They are Tommy John.

They are players everyone should emulate and the world would be a better place.  They are Roberto Clemente.

Why can't the writers association simply sit back and see who deserves to be there without having to look at stats to justify why not to chose them?

 

A Tribute:

Normally I write about the Pittsburgh Pirates, but after the third quarter Sunday, I have to write something about the Steelers.  Here is my tribute to the 17 seconds San Diego had the ball in the third quarter Sunday.  I will type this entire paragraph in the time the Steelers allowed the Chargers to have the ball:

Wow, what a quarter of football.  You will never see something like that again.

(Sorry, I type slow, that took 18 seconds and I misspelled something and had to correct it.)

 

Links:

For anyone who missed this, I have to thank Dejan for the link and Tom Haudricourt for the laugh.

While I was out of action, a few bad days for the Pirates happened.  The potential ace of the staff had a setback and may be out of the mix, Pearce may be the power option for the Pirates, and the heart and soul of the team relocated.

Daniel McCutchen, the other McCutchen, will have a shot at making the rotation.  I have a feeling he will do all he can to get the nod and has the talent to live up to the spot he could earn.

And sympathies go out to another Family members family, teammates and friends.  Dave Roberts passed away Friday in West Virginia.     

Announcement: BTW Fantasy Football League

Like any good Pirates fan, I am thinking football at this time of year. I have set up a free 10 team, 4 player keeper league at ESPN for anyone interested. Tentatively it is scheduled for a Sept 2nd draft at 3:00 PM. If you are interested, email me through the contact link above and I will send you an invite.

First come, first serve.

Discuss this topic in the BTW Forum. To post in the BTW Forum you must be registered. Register here.

Ouch

OUCH!

Happy Super Bowl Sunday and Pirates Links Too!

Happy Super Bowl Sunday

The holiday known as Super Bowl Sunday is upon us. The one day out of the year even non-football fans tune in to watch the game, or advertisements as the case may be.

This got me wondering what baseball could do to create a similar frenzy around the world and build a similar media circus.

The Plan

My grand idea will be hated by baseball purists around the world, so it probably is a good idea.

The first thing I would do to create a media frenzy is shorten the length of time the World Series takes. No I am not saying shorten the series, shorten the number of days.

Shorten The Series

How do I shorten the duration? Lets bring an old staple of baseball into the World Series...Day-Night Double Headers. My plan would have one game played on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday. On Saturday and Sunday the Day-Night Double-Headers are played.

By playing three games before the weekend, a buildup to the last game is happening. It puts more emphasis on the first 3 games and increased emphasis on the remaining games by having double-headers for the last four games.

Saturday would become the most anticipated day, a champion could be crowned. People would watch anticipating the champion with the possibility of that anticipation lasting through to Sunday. A weekend long party could take place, especially IF the team down going into the Saturday double-header wins the first game.

Double-headers bring management and the five-man rotation back into the series. The best overall team has the advantage, not the team with the best three starters.

Logistics

Now comes the logistics problem. How can you play 7 games in 5 days and travel? Easy, neutral site. This allows the host city to plan and build events around the World Series. It allows fans to plan months in advance to attend the festivities and get tickets.

• The media has a field day with the week leading to the series.
• Advertisers jump at the chance to push their products on another world stage.
• The fans can plan on watching or attending the games on the weekend.
• The host cities will line up for a chance to host the event.

Super Bowl Sunday could have company in the national sports holiday schedule. World Series Weekend might just be the next big Sports Holiday.

I know it will never happen, Selig does not have the vision nor creativity to make baseball nor the World Series the events they were in years gone by.

Links

CBS Sportsline breaks out the hate by featuring Jack and Jose.

The Post Gazette has a Hot Stove report that covers Altoona and the bumper crop of prospects that will be there this season. The list includes McCutchen, Walker and Lincoln. I found it odd, with all the prospects named, Bixler was not included? Maybe it was an oversight by everyone involved in the article?

The Hot Stove report also touches base on Jose Castillo in the Caribbean World Series, LaRoches interview with the Atlanta Journal Constitution, Torres as closer and 24 players on the 40-man roster signed their first professional contract with the Pirates (most in the majors).

The Tribune Review gets around to reporting on Sanchez and Kolb. The most satisfying part of the article is the proclamation by Littlefield that Torres is the closer. Isn't that Tracy's job to make that decision?

Why I stick to baseball

Honest Wagner reports:

No New Steelers Coach

Grimm New Coach

Steelers will have coach.

Exactly why I stick to baseball, all I have to worry about are Balco investigations.

Torres, LaRoche, Winter League, Two New Steeler Head Coaches

The Post Gazette has a Hot Stove Report covering Torres as the new closer.

Notes in the article include uniform changes, lineup for Piratefest, Jonah Bayless' good winter showing and 26 days until catchers and pitchers report.

The Tribune-Review is running an article on some guy named LaRoche.

Pirates.com does an update on Winter League stats.

Quick question...
Since Tomlin was announced as new Steelers Head Coach, but isn't really yet. Does that mean the Steelers have now had 3 head coaches since 69? If Tomlin is named, will that mean he is 3 and 4?

ESPN reports Tomlin is head coach. Trib Reports Grimm. What the heck is going on? Is it legal to have two Head Coaches?

Proof the world is ending. Repent now!

Some stories transcent the boundries between good and evil. Between baseball and football. Between life and death. This is not one of them.

Unbelievably Kevin Federline has scored a gig in a Super Bowl ad. Even more shocking is Britney Spears, his former wife, was rejected.

K-Feds role is a true to life ad.

All around the world cats and dogs are getting along in perfect harmony. The end is truly near when K-Fed is featured over Britney.

Way To Go BCS.

Well, I am sitting here reminiscing on last weeks classic game between Boise St and Oklahoma.

Tonight, during the "Championship Game" I am going to bed, before the 3rd quarter is over.

I am not going to say I told you so, because I never posted this statement. The Big 10 was week this year. It is a joke that Ohio State went into this game as a favorite and as the number 1 team in the nation. The BCS has done one thing, make the Fabled Schools of College Football the only teams with a chance for a title.

The Big East was hosed this year. So what did the conference do in Bowl Games? 5-0

Boise State could beat this Ohio State team, it is unfortunate they didn't get an opportunity.

Notre Dame is a joke, luckily for them they fall under the fabled category otherwise they would never have sniffed a BCS game.

Michigan and Ohio State benefited from a weak Big 10 to go undefeated up until their meeting. They both struggled against mid-major teams that weren't as good of teams as what Boise State was. Both teams should have fell in the rankings after those pitiful showings against inferior teams.

Did they?

No.

Do I think the SEC is the best conference?

I doubt it.

Pac-10?

Nope.

Big 12?

Don't think so.

I don't think it matters what conference is the best. I want to see the two best teams in the championship game. After all isn't that what the BCS is suppose to do?

What conference they are from should not play into it. It is time for a playoff.

NCAA get it right. If you get it right, you might not have fans going to bed when it is 34-14 in the 3rd quarter. Hope the ratings are good in Florida.

Hopefully the AP will get it right and crown the only undefeated team as National Champion.

All Hail the Boise State Broncos!!!

Random Madness and Links

There are always a few topics a person would like to mention, but you get side tracked with something else taking focus. Here is a random set of thoughts I haven't been able to get to in a post.

Dick Hoak retired after 35 seasons as the running backs coach for the Steelers. This is a man who survived more than one cleaning house of assistants, five Super Bowl Championships, 2 head coaches a Hall of Fame running back in Franco Harris and a future Hall Inductee in Jerome Bettis. He is a coach who always brought out the best in his running backs. He will be missed more than anyone realizes at this point in time. I want to wish him well in his retirement. Hopefully he will receive an invitation to the Hall of Fame, an honor very few if any assistants ever receive.

Mario saved hockey in Pittsburgh once. Please do it one more time. I don't feel he owes it to the city, the city owes him a huge debt of gratitude for saving the franchise that could never be repaid. He has become a larger than life figure in the area. I would rather him sell the team and the new owner be the bad guy rather than see him sour his reputation in the city of Pittsburgh.

Kevin McClatchy also deserves a big thank you from the city. He saved baseball in Pittsburgh and has guaranteed its survival for the next 20 years thanks to the lease at PNC. I am sure Bud Selig and his cronies could still screw this up. I no longer hold great resentment for McLatchy, he is nothing more than a figurehead and whipping boy for the organization. My true distaste comes from the mere mention of the Nuttings. I do not feel McClatchy is immune, but he did save the Pirates. In case I have never said this. Thank You Kevin. Now convince the ownership group to field a winner, I guarantee the city will go mad with Pirate Fever if this ever happens.

Congratulations to Boise State on a very impressive win over Oklahoma. I was drawn into that game, which may be one of the best games, college or pro, I have seen since the Steelers Rams Super Bowl in 1980. That one game made me an honorary Bronco fan. How bad does the BCS look now?

Ironic the Big East is 4-0 in bowl games. How are the ACC, SEC, Big Ten or Big 12 doing in the bowls? I guess the experts are right, the Big East is a joke and should not be part of the BCS. Maybe the WAC should replace the Big Ten in the BCS? Wouldn't it be great to see the BCS unanimous number 1 get smoked in the BCS Championship game? Maybe they might admit to needing a playoff system? Just don't hold your breath.

Links:
The Tribune Review has a nice article profiling the remaining free agents from a thinning field the Pirates could be interested in.

(recap from an earlier post)

The Post Gazette is reporting the Pirates are finalists for the services of Brian Lawrence. The Arizona Diamondbacks, Colorado Rockies and San Francisco Giants are some of the other teams interested.

The Post Gazette is also reporting season ticket sales are down.

Retirement

The major talk of late is the speculated retirement of Bill Cowher and Brett Favre. First my thoughts on the likelihood of either happening followed by fan participation and my wishes for retirements.

Bill Cowher:
I have a feeling, based on nothing more than a gut hunch, that Bill Cowher will return for at least one more season. I think he does not want to go out on an 8-8 record. He is too competitive and proud to go out like that. I think, if nothing else, he will feel a need to come back one more season to honor his contract and to show his appreciation to the Rooney family.

Brett Favre:
Another very competitive person. Someone who won't settle for 8-8. The Packers have a chance at the playoffs next season, it is the NFC after all. He is so close to so many records, not that it will affect him being a first ballot Hall Inductee. However, from watching him Sunday night, he is done. He is not a guy to show that much emotion, especially in the spotlight.

Fan Participation:
Leave a comment on who you would like to see retire and why.

Personal Picks for Retirement:

1. The Nuttings - The Pirates need real ownership dedicated to winning.
2. Dave Littlefield - Even on shoestring budget other GM's have been able to field teams that compete and are not a laughingstock. The Pirates have not done enough in his tenure to build the minors through the draft nor through foreign players. At least we have middle relievers to make any franchise jealous.
3. Kevin McClatchy - I feel he has had his hands tied since the Nuttings took majority ownership of the team. That does not excuse some of the poor decisions this franchise has made since he led the group who purchased the Pirates. The Pirates need a baseball man as CEO of the team.

Looking forward to your ideas.

I hope you have had a great New Years Day.

Congrats to the Mountaineers on an outstanding game and a fine win. Also congrats to Penn State.

Perfect Timing

I start a blog after all the good juicy rumors have dried up and it is between holidays. Perfect timing.

I was reading the Bob Smizik column ,from the Post Gazette Parker is not the Steelers' No. 1 problem, I came to an ugly conclusion. I somewhat agree with this nitwit. However, for once in his life, he did not go far enough.

Parker is one of the more electrifying players the Steelers have had in a long time. He is a true game breaker. Everyone seems to point out how poorly he runs on the road. The Steelers in general play a different game away from home. Why? I have no idea.

What the Steelers need to do is find a way to better utilize Fast Willie. If the running game isn't working, you need to get him the ball in space. By no means am I saying he is a LaDanian Tomlinson type of back, but the Steelers should take some notes from San Diego.

When the Chargers are not moving the ball on the ground, they find other ways to get LT in open space. A nice combination of screens, short passes, gadget plays will open the field up for the run.

When the pass protection is poor, which it has been consistently this season, Ben needs to find Parker and dump the ball off. These short plays will get the Defense to hold back a bit more from blitzing. Consistently the Steelers are running double moves and try throwing a deep ball when the blitz is in Bens face. Problem is, Ben is hit as he pumps the ball.

It is true Paker is not the No. 1 problem, but he could be a huge solution if the Steelers would use him a little differently.